‘Rocket League’ has an official championship
Rocket League is practically tailor-made for tournaments (it’s football/soccer with cars, after all), and Psyonix is determined to make the most of that fact. It’s teaming up with Twitch to launch the Rocket League Championship Series, an official 3-vs-3 competition with real-world stakes. The two are running 3-month seasons that will offer a $75,000 prize pool to the top players — peanuts next to some tourneys, but enough that it could be worth brushing up on your mid-air shots. Only PS4 and Windows PC players can qualify (at least at first) once the series begins this month, although every playoff match will be streamed over Twitch if you can’t join in with your Xbox One.
The alliance is part of a trend of Twitch partnerships, and hints that these kinds of eSports arrangements could be common going forward. Twitch stands to profit from hordes of viewers, of course, but it’s also a potential win for gamers. Official championships not only give you a reason to keep playing, but can keep your favorite game in the limelight for longer. You may not have to worry as much about a multiplayer-focused title like Rocket League dying a quick death simply because you’ve run out of fresh opponents.
Source: Rocket League Championship Series, Twitch
YouTube creators stand a real chance of winning Emmy awards
While movie and TV award shows are increasingly willing to recognize internet video, they still tend to focus on conventional productions with reasonably big budgets. However, they’re about to broaden their horizons: the Television Academy has expanded the Emmys to not only include more internet-friendly short form categories (such as outstanding actor/actress and outstanding variety series), but widen its definitions to make room for more internet-only video shows. While you probably won’t see your favorite “let’s play” star take home a statuette, this gives YouTubers with artistic ambitions (such as PewDiePie and Lilly Singh) a much better shot at winning a major, peer-voted award.
Internet video already has its own awards, like the Webbys, but they tend to live in the shadow of their decades-older counterparts. The Emmys move gives these online clips some added legitimacy in the public eye — they’re real artistic endeavors, not just homebrew projects recorded by people with webcams. That acknowledgment, in turn, could encourage online video producers to step up their quality in hopes of winning an award and making it big.
Via: Hollywood Reporter, Polygon
Source: Television Academy
Slack to start integrating native voice chat into its app
A couple of months ago, you could start making Skype calls from within Slack, an award-winning work chat app that’s pretty popular with a lot of companies (we certainly use it over here in the Engadget office). Now, however, voice calls are simply baked into the app itself, without you having to use an external service. The feature is in beta right now, and testing will roll out in Slack’s desktop apps as well as in Chrome. The voice calling feature actually comes from Slack’s acquisition of Screenhero over a year ago.
If you have it, you’ll spot a phone icon at the top of your screen next to the info button. Click it and you can initiate a voice call much like most other chat apps out there. This doesn’t work with just individual folks either; you can also make channel-wide calls with up to 15 folks, but this is only for Slack users who pay for the service. And because this is Slack — known for its wide range of emoji — you can also respond to voice chats with one of several colorful reactions imposed over your user icon.
This isn’t to say that Slack will stop supporting the aforementioned Skype or other voice chat services; it’s just another option. We should also note that rival Hipchat has had voice and video chat for awhile now. Still, for loyal Slack users, this is great news; here’s hoping that video support will be coming too.
Via: The Verge
Source: Slack
Perfect Screen Shot – Make your screenshots…perfect. [Review]
Overview – Perfect Screen Shot is my app choice when making images for AndroidGuys. PSS lets you import screenshots and places them in the frame of an existing smartphone of
Dell XPS 8900 Special Edition review – CNET
The Good The XPS 8900 is a decent-looking desktop tower with reasonable expandability. It’s only $999 as part of an Oculus Rift bundle, and includes a very good graphics card.
The Bad This VR-on-a-budget configuration may feel dated quickly as VR games become more ambitious. The Core i5 CPU holds this system back from being a PC-gaming workhorse.
The Bottom Line One of the least-expensive Oculus-ready PCs, the Dell XPS 8900 Special Edition hits the required specs for virtual reality, but just barely.
Visit manufacturer site for details.
It’s been a while since a standard tower desktop PC has darkened my computer testing bench. After all, laptops and hybrids are where all the action is at these days, and when I do review a desktop, it’s usually a small-form-factor system, such as the Mac Mini, Alienware Alpha or Intel Compute Stick.
But there are now several very traditional-looking desktops lined up in the CNET Labs. Is it because of a sudden surge in interest in computers that look like they dropped in from 2005? No, it’s because the first wave of virtual reality hardware — the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive — will only work on computers with desktop-level components. That means anyone interested in VR right now needs to invest in a desktop PC, or one of a very small handful of oversize laptops with desktop parts crammed inside.
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Sarah Tew/CNET
Aside from the sticker shock of a $599 Oculus Rift or a $799 HTC Vive, the required PC system specs for these two VR headsets are going to be a major hit in the wallet for anyone who does not have a recently updated gaming desktop. Besides a reasonably current Intel Core i5 or Core i7 CPU, Oculus and Vive require a desktop graphics card — at least an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD R9 290 (and no, for a variety of technical reasons, laptop graphics cards, no matter how powerful, won’t currently work).
Fortunately, Oculus has already promised compatible gaming PCs for as little as $999. While VR-ready desktops with high-end Core i7 CPUs and Nvidia 980 or 980ti cards can cost $2,000 or more, the poster child for affordable VR computing is the Dell XPS 8900 Special Edition, a system specifically promoted by both Oculus and Dell as being VR-ready for less.
On its own, this specific configuration is $1,199 in the US, although periodic promotions have dropped it to $999. (The Oculus-compatible XPS 8900 is not currently being sold in the UK or Australia, but that works out to roughly £716 or AU$1,390.) Further, when ordered as part of an Oculus Rift headset bundle, the price drops by $200, and even if you’ve already ordered your Oculus Rift, you can log into your account and get a promo code for $200 off this configuration, or similar discounts on other VR-ready desktops from Asus or Dell’s Alienware brand.
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The XPS 8900 is one of the least-expensive computers that will work with the $599 Oculus Rift.
Oculus
While the XPS 8900 can be configured with a wide range of components, including faster processors, more powerful graphics and solid state or hybrid storage, this model includes a current-gen Intel Core i5-6400 CPU (about as mainstream as you can get), 8GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive and the Nvidia 970 graphics card, all inside a plastic and metal chassis. Non-Special Edition versions go as low as $699 in the US, but those won’t work with VR headsets.
Dell XPS 8900 Special Edition
| $1,199 |
| 2.7GHz Intel Core i5-6400 |
| 8GB DDR4 SDRAM 2,133MHz |
| 4GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 |
| 1TB 7,200rpm HDD |
| 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit) |
On the upside, it’s a decent set of specs for the price, and fine for everyday computing and mainstream PC gaming. The system interior, accessible through a removable side panel, has some room for expansion, including three hard drive bays (just one is used here), four RAM slots (two are filled with 4GB RAM modules), and two extra PCIe slots. Note, however, that the power supply is a 460W one, but that’s enough for a Core i7 and GeForce 980 card.
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Sarah Tew/CNET
The case feels gigantic, even if Dell calls this a mini-tower (full-size towers are rare these days outside of specialized gaming and design rigs). The black-and-chrome look is generically inoffensive, but the glossy, black plastic front panel and matte-black side panels feel a little mismatched. As we’ve seen with most modern mainstream desktops, USB and memory card slots are easily accessible on the front panel, while a small indented panel on the top, good for holding USB keys and spare change, offers access to a couple more USB ports and audio jacks. While optical media is relatively rare these days, the system comes with one DVD drive and an extra front panel door for a second drive — a throwback to the days when people needed not one, but two optical drives in their desktops (and let’s be honest, that was usually for copying music CDs).
But is it really ready for VR?
Assuming one doesn’t have a compatible desktop PC already, buying into one of the new VR ecosystems isn’t going to be cheap. Starting with a $599 Oculus Rift or $799 HTC Vive, a VR-ready computer can cost thousands. It’s cheaper to build or upgrade your own not-too-old machine, of course, but having a $999 (after the bundle discount) computer that’s ready to roll on day one is tempting.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 review
Buy now on Amazon
Update (3/1): With the arrival of the new Galaxy S7 family, the Galaxy Note 5 might no longer be the latest from Samsung, but it’s still one of the best. We’ve already pitted the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 vs the Galaxy S7 in a quick look, but we also felt now was a great time to the Note 5 review up to the front of the index. For those who prefer big screen phones, there’s really few better than the Note 5.
Over the past few years, Samsung has followed a release cycle featuring two major flagships, under the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note monikers. Apart from the obvious difference in size, there has always been some separation in design, build quality, and features between the two series, and the mainstream acceptance of large display smartphones led to the Galaxy Note series emerging as the more compelling option in recent times.
With a new, yet controversial, design language, and some enhancements underneath the surface, does the latest addition to the Galaxy Note family continue the legacy of the series? We find out, in this comprehensive review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5!
- Common Galaxy Note 5 Problems
- Best Note 5 Accessories & Cases
Design
Perhaps the most important part of the new Galaxy Note 5 is that it feels like we’ve been here before, and that starts with the design. Though much of the Galaxy design language remains as familiar as ever, the just-released Galaxy Note now takes its build quality cue from the latest Galaxy S series flagship, offering a metal and glass construction. Glass panels are kept together with a metallic frame, and all color options include translucent effects that literally make the phone shine and reflect.
The use of glass means that the Note 5 is also the most fingerprint prone Note device we’ve seen, which is another trope that it derives from the Galaxy S6. But, unlike the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, the Galaxy Note 5 manages to be just a bit more than a blown up Galaxy S6, with its subtle curves along the sides of the back, that actually help with the handling of this large phone.
Of course, much of what we all remember from Samsung devices returns here. The buttons are all where one would expect them, with the fingerprint scanner integrated into the tactile home button up front. The scanner now works with a simple touch, which is a far better implementation than the swipe version found with its predecessor. Down at the bottom is the microUSB port, the headphone jack, the speaker grill, as well as the S-Pen, nestled very neatly into the bottom right corner.
The S-Pen also gets some real updates in design, as is evident when you pop out the top, which has been done in order allow the pen to be flush with the body, making it look and feel sleeker than before. The click on the top is yet another toy to mess with, and any avid S-Pen user will probably take advantage of it as they gather their thoughts in between taking down any notes.
This is also a good place to address the “Pengate” controversy that has been making the rounds – while it is true that you are able to put the S-Pen into the slot backwards, that is certainly not a reason to do so. Even if the S-Pen could have fit backwards without affecting the sensor, I think all users should still be wary of how they are inserting this stylus, and the problem goes away.
The new design language of the Note 5 brings one very significant change that is quite the point of contention, and that is the lack of a removable back cover, and all that it entails. That means no expandable storage via microSD card, and no user-replaceable battery. These were two features that previously made Galaxy Note devices the go-to phones for power users, and that is unfortunately not the case anymore. Sacrificing these two features does make for the thinnest, most beautifully constructed Galaxy Note smartphone ever though. Handling might suffer from a pretty slippery glass design (up until the fingerprints and smudges slow it down), but the Galaxy Note 5 still manages to have one of the most appealing aesthetics, even if it now feels overly familiar.
Display
The Galaxy Note 5 comes with a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a 2560 x 1440 resolution, which is, on paper, identical to the display of its predecessor. However, the display has been incrementally enhanced to improve on an already fantastic viewing experience. Quad HD makes a lot of sense on a larger display, resulting in an excellent pixel density of 518 ppi, despite the large size. The high saturation Super AMOLED construction proves to be as great as ever, allowing for vibrant, vivid colors, and plenty of brightness for comfortable viewing in broad daylight. You do have the option to tone down the saturation though, if that better suits your tastes.
What we think is the most important about this panel, however, is the really small bezel ratio. There is very little space on the sides of the display, which helps tremendously with the handling experience. For a phone that deals with text and writing, the screen really shines, but fire up a very colorful game or video and using this display will be an absolute joy.
Performance
Performance is a high-point for the Galaxy Note 5, thanks to Samsung’s use of its in-house processing package, which has been optimized for the toned-down TouchWiz. The octa-core Exynos 7420 processor, clocked at 2.1 GHz, returns from the Galaxy S6, where it really shined, bringing with it an additional gigabyte of RAM, for 4 GB in total. That combination allows for some strong multi-tasking, and that’s great, given the availability of the S-Pen and all of its features.
There is no doubt in our minds that this processing package is a great performer, as a whole week of above-average use has yet to slow down this phone, on which we’ve installed apps, used trackers, watched videos, played games, and taken lots of pictures and videos with. The Galaxy Note 5 succeeds where the Note line has always excelled – being the fastest and best iteration of the Galaxy experience in any given year.
Hardware
In hardware, some familiar additions return with the Galaxy Note 5. On the back of the phone, right next to the camera package is where the heart rate monitor can be found. It works about as well as ever, thanks to a streamlined S-Health app, but this is not a feature you will probably use very often.
The device packs a standard suite of connectivity options, including NFC, which will be a part of the upcoming Samsung Pay ecosystem. Phone calls come in loud and clear, and I had no dropped calls during my usage with the T-Mobile network. Speaking of audio, the single speaker unit on the bottom benefits from a better placement from before, but provides the expected quality. It gets pretty loud, but without much body in the sound, but we’re glad it doesn’t overdo the high ends though.
Fingerprint reading is a thing of the future, and Samsung makes it work quite well in the Galaxy Note 5. Setting it up for Web sign-in credentials is possible, but, for the most part, the primary use of the fingerprint scanner will be to unlock the phone. The scanner’s usefulness will also see a bump when Samsung Pay officially launches later this year.
On the storage front, the Galaxy Note 5 comes with 32 GB or 64 GB options, without the possibility to expand the storage, leaving power users dependent on choosing the larger version, along the premium it entails. As was the case with the Galaxy S flagships, the storage in the Galaxy Note 5 is UFS 2.0, which is a standard that can rival speeds of SSDs, and that helps with maximizing speed. That, of course, might not be reason enough to warrant the removal of expandable storage, but the smooth performance of the device can definitely be attributed to optimized internals, over a myriad of unknowns coming from microSD cards. A lot of people won’t be convinced, but it’s something we thought should be considered.
Finally, when it comes to the battery, the Galaxy Note 5 packs a 3,000 mAh unit, and that capacity does seem a little bit small at first glance. In our testing, we found that the device could still handle a full day of work without any problems, though getting anything more than that is a stretch. Screen-on time never really got beyond 4.5 hours, but with an impressive standby time, if the device remains unused a lot, it might by easy to get more than a full day out of it.
In attempting to keep the latest Galaxy Note phone as thin as possible, Samsung hit a hard limit on the battery size of the Note 5, and focused on charging it as fast as possible instead. For example, the Note 5 boasts faster wireless charging, although the high speeds are only available with Samsung’s own wireless charger. It is also nice that the device supports both the PMA and Qi wireless charging standards out of the box, but the cordless life that Samsung seemed very excited about at the launch event still feels a little far off.
The Note 5’s fast charging capabilities will prove more useful for most users, as the device requires only 10 to 15 minutes to get back to decent battery life, and only about an hour to be fully charged. Granted, fast charging does feel like a consolation prize for losing true longevity. But it shouldn’t be difficult to find 15-minute charging windows throughout the day, so that you aren’t worried about running out of juice.
Camera
The Note 5 retains the quality in the camera department, quite literally in this case: the camera on the device is basically the same with the Galaxy S6′, with its 16 MP rear shooter with a f/1.9 aperture and 4K video recording capabilities, along with a 5 MP wide angle lens front-facing camera.
By far, the best part about the camera experience is the ability to bring it up by simply hitting the home button twice, which will quickly and easily launch the camera app. The manual controls of the mostly familiar app have been given a few more options, such as being able to change the Kelvin reading in the white balance slider, which isn’t available with the Galaxy S6 camera.
There are all the usual modes as well, with everything from slow motion, to a new video collage mode that is fun to use. Live broadcasting is also now available, with YouTube as the platform, which is basically a Periscope built into the app. We think it isn’t something most users will use, and even then, more established streaming services like Snapchat or Periscope might still take priority. Shooting in the app is nice and quick in most situations, and though there is some spot metering when tapping to focus, a slider for changing the exposure does appear if you need it.
Picture quality remains as great as ever, keeping Samsung at the top of the heap in the Android world. Good saturation across the board keeps pictures from ever being dull, and detail is also captured really well. Users can benefit from the f/1.9 aperture for depth of field effects, and it does help a bit in low light situations. Of course, pictures do get the expected level of noise due to higher ISO compensation, and the app gets a little slow when trying to focus in low light conditions. Much like the Galaxy S6 proved earlier this year, the great camera experience of the Galaxy Note 4 can be improved upon, and thus, the Galaxy Note 5 gets all the benefits of this past year’s evolution in camera quality and performance.
See also: Blind Camera Shootout – the winner is…420
Software
On the software side of things, the main story is in how streamlined this version of Android has become, as much of what bogged down Samsung’s operating system has been stripped away. What remains is actually quite useful: namely, certain gestures and a theme engine that does well to change the look of the interface. Plenty of features can be found with just a little bit of digging, like easy access to Multi-window from the Recent Apps screen, as well as the one-handed features, easily triggered by hitting the home button three times. Just like with the Galaxy S6, there are far less tutorials and annoying reminders of what the phone can do, which is probably one of the highlights of this version of TouchWiz.
Of course, the additions mostly relate to the S-Pen, which has been streamlined with the rest of TouchWiz. Some features from before have been removed, instead prioritizing the most used abilities of the S-Pen, such as Smart Select, Screen Write, and memo creation. You can also use the S-Pen like a mouse, which is best demonstrated in places like the Gallery or while scrolling through text, where holding down and then dragging to select is nice and easy.
Creating memos is easier than ever on the Galaxy Note 5, as removing the S-Pen when the phone is in standby no longer wakes it, but instead, the display remains black, and a screen-off memo pad opens up. For any time when the user needs to quickly jot down any information, the Galaxy Note 5 is as accessible as a pad of paper, and even if this feature isn’t used all the time, its addition is certainly appreciated.
Taking the S-Pen out in any other situation, or pressing the button on it, opens up the refreshed Air Command menu, which now also includes a few shortcuts to user-defined applications, though it does feel weird to put anything on this list that doesn’t ultimately take advantage of the stylus. The Action Memo is still able to read handwriting and insert it into a number of different applications, though the feature mainly remains a way of quickly adding to S-Note. In S-Note, every note can be easily pinned to the homescreen, as well as turned into a reminder; both of these features are practical and make the Screen-Off Memo that much more appealing to use regularly.
Smart Select is also as powerful as before, as any portion of the screen can be cut out and easily shared. For anyone that likes to talk in messaging apps through pictures and memes, like I do, Smart Select is pretty awesome. Finally, there is Screen Write, which takes screenshots of the current workspace for editing and sharing. Now, scrollable places like Web pages can be pieced together automatically, creating a long image or note than encompasses everything you want to save from the page.
What is probably best about the S-Pen is that it actually feels a bit more essential than before, and that was achieved by not oversaturating it with buttons or tutorials, or even raw features. The list of S-Pen abilities is not as long as before, but there are solid use case scenarios for every single feature that is available. Even if you almost never use the S-Pen, it’s an addition that proves its worth every time you say “why not,” and perform your typical task with it instead.
Specifications
| Display | 5.7-inch Super AMOLED 2560 x 1440 resolution |
| Processor | Exynos 7420 |
| RAM | 4GB (LPDDR4) |
| Storage | 32/64 GB |
| Camera | 16 MP rear camera with OIS 5 MP front-facing camera |
| Connectivity | WiFi a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, GPS + GLONASS |
| Networks | LTE cat 6 300/50 |
| Battery | 3,000 mAh Fast charging WPC and PMA-compatible wireless charging |
| Software | Android 5.1 Lollipop with TouchWiz |
| Dimensions | 153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6mm, 171g |
| Colors | black sapphire, white pearl, gold platinum |
Gallery
Pricing and final thoughts
The Galaxy Note 5 was made available just days after its launch across all major carriers in the US, and as expected, it comes at a steep price point. In total, about $700 is what you will shell out to get Samsung’s latest addition to the Galaxy Note line, whether or not you use payment plans on AT&T, T-Mobile, or elsewhere.
So, there you have it for this in-depth look at the Samsung Galaxy Note 5! It’s hard not to look at the Galaxy Note 5 in comparison to what Samsung has offered in the past, because of the company’s decision to take quite a departure in design and hardware choices. This phone may not feel like a power user’s device anymore, and people who feel that way are completely validated in doing so. For those who expected more, this new iteration feels too much like the Galaxy S6 in terms of what features it leaves out.
On the flip side, the Note 5 takes the best of what the Galaxy S6 offered and brings it to a bigger and better package. The stellar display is even better at 5.7-inches, the performance is super smooth and reliable for any and all usage levels, and the camera is one of the best in Android today. Expandable storage and replaceable batteries might be missed, but we were still able to enjoy the Note in spite of that. If we work with what is given, this phone still delivers. At first look, many people were not convinced that the device was worth the upgrade, but spend some time with it, and there is a good chance that you will fall in love with the Note, just like you did before.
Buy now on Amazon
Next:
- Note 5 vs iPhone 6S Plus
- Note 5 vs Nexus 6P
HBO won’t send out advance ‘Game of Thrones’ screeners to avoid piracy
The public’s appetite for all things Games of Thrones has cemented its rank as the most pirated show year after year, but HBO’s going to try and change that with season six set to premiere at the end of April. For the first time, the network isn’t going to send out any advance screeners of the show to critics for review — they’ll have to watch on Sunday nights along with everyone else. HBO programming president Michael Lombardo unequivocally told Entertainment Weekly that “there will be no copies for review.”
It’s a big change, but it’s not entirely surprising given what happened ahead of season five last year. Four episodes of the season leaked online — presumably from advance review screeners — before the show had even premiered. Piracy after the shows aired is inevitable, but HBO surely wants to keep secrets about the new season from hitting the internet before the show even comes back.
That’s particularly important this year, as Game of Thrones season six will start unveiling plot points that haven’t even been published in George R.R. Martin’s books yet, giving HBO even more reason to keep things quiet. Critics and fans alike will have their first chance to see the new season on April 24th.
Via: io9
Source: Entertainment Weekly
How to memorialize someone’s Facebook account – CNET
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
What happens to someone’s Facebook account when they die? Well, if they had the foresight to designate a legacy contact prior to passing away, Facebook will hand the reins of their account over to their designated contact upon proof of their death. But what if your loved one — like the majority of young, invincible social media users — never got around to getting their social media affairs in order?
If one of your Facebook friends has passed away and their account is still active, here are your options.
Legacy contacts
Legacy contacts are named by the account holder prior to their death — a family member or a friend who will be able to manage the person’s memorialized account when they die. Legacy contacts can post a pinned post at the top of the deceased user’s Timeline, respond to new friend requests, and update the person’s profile picture and cover photo. They can also, with the deceased user’s permission, download an archive of the user’s photos, Timeline posts, and profile information.
Legacy contacts cannot log into the deceased user’s account and see any of their private information, such as Facebook messages. They also cannot remove the user’s past posts, photos or friends.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
To choose a legacy contact, open up your Facebook account and go to Settings > Security > Legacy Contact. Click Edit, type in your friend’s name, and click Add.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
You will have the choice to send them a message about your choice immediately — click Send to send them the message, or click Not Now if you’d prefer they not know about your decision. You’ll need to eventually tell them, of course, because they will need to ask Facebook to memorialize your account when you die.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
Once you’ve chosen a legacy contact, you’ll see the option to allow them to download a copy of your Facebook account under Data Archive Permission. To allow your legacy contact to do this, click the checkbox and click Close.
If you do not choose a legacy contact before you die, nobody will be able to manage your Facebook account — but they can still memorialize it.
Memorializing someone’s Facebook account
If your friend has passed away without setting up a legacy contact, you can still request that Facebook memorialize their account using this form. You will need to provide the person’s name, approximate date of death, and optional proof of death (such as a link to an obituary).
A memorialized account will have the word “Remembering” in front of the person’s name, and will not show up in Facebook ads, “People You May Know,” or send out reminders on the person’s birthday. Memorialized accounts cannot be logged into, so memorializing someone’s account also prevents the account from getting hacked.
If you’re an immediate family member, you can request that the account be deleted instead of memorialized. To do this, use Facebook’s Special Request for Deceased Person’s Account form. You will need to provide the deceased person’s full name, email address, date of death and the URL of their Timeline. You will also need to provide proof that you are an immediate family member — you can do this with a birth certificate, death certificate, or proof of authority.
How to prepare for your digital afterlife – CNET
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
You’re probably not going to die any time soon (knock on wood), but it’s never a bad idea to prepare for the worst. Your will may take care of who gets your car when you pass away, but what about who gets your Facebook account? Or who’s allowed to access your Gmail data? Managing your digital afterlife can be tough, especially if you have a lot of data hidden away within the depths of your inbox.
Here’s what you need to know about how you can leave your accounts in good hands when you die — and what companies will (and will not) reveal to your digital heirs.
Google
Google doesn’t explicitly talk death, but they do let you decide what happens to your Google accounts — Gmail, Photos, Google Drive, etc — when you haven’t signed into your Google account for a period of time. Google lets you add up to 10 friends and family members who will be notified if your account is inactive for a certain amount of time, and who will (with your permission) be able to download data from your accounts for three months.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
To set up the Inactive Account Manager, login to your Google account and go to this page. Click Setup to start the process.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
First, you’ll need to add a mobile phone number to your account so that Google can alert you before your account goes inactive. You can also add an additional email address.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
Next, choose your timeout period — how long Google will wait before declaring your account inactive. Your options are three months, six months, nine months, one year, 15 months, or 18 months. Google will alert you one month before your timeout period expires.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
Next, you can add up to 10 contacts who will be alerted if your account becomes inactive. To add a contact, click Add trusted contact and type in the person’s email address or contact name. If you want the contact to be able to download data from your account, check the box next to Share my data with this contact and hit Next.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
On the next screen, you’ll be able to choose what data you want to share with the contact — everything from Google +1s to your Orkut profile. You will also need to enter in your contact’s phone number so they can receive a verification code before they are allowed to access your data.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
Once you’ve chosen what accounts you want to share with your contact, you’ll need to type out an email that will be sent to them when your account expires. This email will automatically include information on how to access your account and data, but you can add a personal message of your own.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
Once you’ve added all of your trusted contacts, click Enable to turn on the Inactive Account Manager.
Microsoft
If you have a Microsoft email account (Hotmail, Live, MSN, or Outlook.com), family members will need to go through Microsoft’s Next of Kin process in order to gain access to your account data. Microsoft will release your account data — including emails, attachments, and your address book — to your next of kin on a DVD. Your next of kin will not receive your password or be able to access your account (just the data).
To start the Next of Kin process, your next of kin will need to email msrecord@microsoft.com and provide documentation that verifies that you are dead (or otherwise incapacitated) and that they are your next of kin, the executor or benefactor of your estate, or someone with power of attorney.
Yahoo
Yahoo will not release any of your data when you die, so if you want your family to be able to access your account you will need to provide them with your login information (though Yahoo’s Terms of Service states that your account is not transferable, so technically providing your login info to your family is breaking their ToS).
While Yahoo will not share any of your data or account information, the executor of your estate/next of kin can request that your account be closed by emailing concierge@cc.yahoo-inc.com a request letter containing your Yahoo ID, as well as proof of your death and proof that they are the executor of your estate.
Facebook allows you to designate a legacy contact who can manage parts of your account when you die. Legacy contacts cannot sign into your account or see any private messages, but they can post a pinned post to the top of your Timeline, accept (or reject) new friend requests, and update your profile picture and your header image. They can also (with your permission) download an archive of your posts, photos, and profile information.
Learn how to assign a legacy contact here.
Twitter does not allow you to grant anyone access to your account when you die, though immediate family members and people who are authorized to act on your behalf can request that your account be deactivated when you pass away. If you want someone to be able to take over your account when you die, you’ll need to provide them with your login information.
To request that someone’s account be deactivated, you will need to use Twitter’s privacy form. You will need to provide proof of your relationship to the deceased, including your ID and a copy of their death certificate.
Instagram is owned by Facebook, but the photo-based social network does not offer the same post-mortem option of designating a legacy contact. However, Instagram does memorialize accounts — memorialized accounts cannot be changed or logged into, but they will remain visible and will not appear in Instagram’s public archives (like Search & Explore).
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Your friends and family members will need to contact Instagram about memorializing your account after you die, according to Instagram’s Privacy Policy, using this form. They will need to provide their name and email address, the deceased’s name and Instagram username, and proof of death, such as a link to an obituary or a death certificate.
Password Managers
Even the accounts that do let you designate a digital heir don’t let people fully access your stuff after you die. If you want to leave full access to your accounts to someone after you pass away, your best bet is to use a password manager with a legacy feature.
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LastPass has an Emergency Access feature that lets you give trusted contacts access to your password vault. To add a trusted contact, open your LastPass account and click Emergency Access. Click Give Emergency Access and type in your contact’s email address. Choose a wait time for how long that contact will have to wait when they request emergency access (anywhere from “immediately” to 30 days). If your contact requests emergency access, you will have this amount of time to reject their request before they are automatically granted access.
Dashlane also has an emergency access feature that lets trusted contacts request access to your vault, while PasswordBox features a Legacy Vault that lets you pass on your passwords to your next of kin.
Make sure your online accounts get deleted when you die – CNET
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Not everyone wants to leave this earth with their online accounts being managed by relatives and next-of-kin, or just floating around on the Internet forever. If you’re the kind of person who likes your privacy — even in death — you should probably make some plans to have all of your online and social media accounts nuked when you pass away.
Some services, such as Google and Facebook, let you set up your eventual account deletion before you get anywhere close to death. Other services will keep your account forever unless an immediate family member or the executor of your estate requests it be removed. Here’s how to make sure all your loose ends are tied up, and that nobody ever gets hold of your top-secret/possibly incriminating emails and Twitter direct messages.
Google’s Inactive Account Manager lets you choose what happens to your account when it becomes inactive for a certain period of time. You can set up the Inactive Account Manager to delete your Google account and all products associated with that account, including Gmail, Blogger, AdSense, and YouTube.
To set this up, log in to your Google account and go to this page. You will need to provide Google with a phone number for alerts — Google will send a message to this number before your account times out, so you know your account is about to become inactive. You will then need to select a timeout period (3 months, 6 months, 9 months, one year, 15 months, or 18 months).
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Then, under Optionally delete account, turn on Delete my account. Click Enable to turn the Inactive Account Manager on, and you’re set. If you fail to log in to your account for the timeout period you selected, Google will delete your Google account and all data associated with it.
Facebook is one of few online services that lets you set a legacy contact — someone who can manage parts of your account and memorialize your page — for when you die. Facebook also lets you delete your account when you die (though it doesn’t use inactivity to determine that you’ve passed away).
To make sure your Facebook account is deleted when you die, open Facebook and go to Settings > Security > Legacy Contact. Check the box next to Account Deletion.
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You will see a pop-up box asking if you really want to delete your account in the future. Click Delete After Death and then re-enter your Facebook password to save your changes. Your account will now be deleted when Facebook is notified of your death — this means that if anybody tries to memorialize your page, it will be deleted instead of memorialized.
Use a digital legacy service
Google and Facebook give you the power to delete your account when you die, but many sites and services — such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Microsoft, and Yahoo — do not. These sites will delete the account of a deceased person at the request of an immediate family member or the executor of an estate (by the way, you can and should delineate how you want your digital life to be handled in your last will and testament). If you want to take full control, you can use a digital legacy services like Perpetu.
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Perpetu is an online service that covers Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Flickr, LinkedIn and GitHub. You connect your accounts to Perpetu, and then you outline your final wishes for each service — for example, you can request that Perpetu delete certain emails from your Gmail account, delete tweets and direct messages from Twitter, or delete files from your Dropbox account.
The service can’t really delete actual accounts, but it can delete data and leave final updates for your friends and family to see. Perpetu’s service kicks in when the company receives a report of your death from a trusted contact with your reporting code, so it’s still a good idea to put this in your will.
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